Lauren Young, Chartered Physiotherapist

Professional Experience

Since qualifying as a Chartered Physiotherapist from the University of East Anglia in 2008, I have specialised in amputation and limb loss rehabilitation, prosthetics and vascular surgery. I initially gained significant experience in the NHS working in intensive care treating patients with polytrauma, respiratory distress and multiple pathologies.

I currently work full time in the private sector as a clinical specialist amputation and prosthetic physiotherapist at the Dorset Orthopaedic Egham Clinic. My role involves assessing a wide variety of amputee patients, including paediatric patients, upper-limb amputees, poly-trauma patients and patients with multiple limb loss. I regularly undertake joint assessment and treatment sessions with prosthetists, provide individualised and intensive prosthetic rehabilitation for upper limb and lower limb amputees, oversee myoelectric rehabilitation and provide tailored pain rehabilitation programmes for service users.

Dorset Orthopaedic Limited is twinned with the Relimb team at the Royal Free Hospital, providing osseointegration surgery to upper limb and lower limb amputees. Subsequently, I also have experience in the provision of specialist osseointegration rehabilitation; comprising of wound management, tailored loading programmes, manual therapy, acupuncture and graduated gait re-education. I also review patients pre-operatively to optimise their clinical status and determine the most appropriate level of amputation; liaising with MDT and external services to ensure the short- and long-term needs of patients are fulfilled.

I am also responsible for a caseload of patients requiring orthotics (predominantly patients with peripheral nerve injuries, orthopaedic injuries or spinal injuries); and work closely with our orthotist to optimise a patient’s outcomes by providing rehabilitation pre and post orthotic provision. I have a specialist interest in phantom limb pain and have a qualification in Graded Motor Imagery; a technique shown to be helpful in reducing the pain response of patients with chronic pathological pain states.

I have also developed a specialist interest in upper limb prosthetic rehabilitation and have taken a lead role in developing clinical pathways and rehabilitation programmes within my current workplace for individuals with upper limb loss. I regularly rehabilitate patients using myoelectric prostheses, pattern recognition systems and multi-articulating prosthetic hands.

Professional Development

I completed my MSc degree in Amputation and Prosthetic Rehabilitation at the University of Southampton in March 2021.

I maintain my professional development and HCPC standards by attending relevant training, courses and conferences. In 2024, I attended the Pain Mastersessions Course in York run by Lorimer Moseley (a renowned researcher in pain rehabilitation) which enabled me to further shape and develop the pain rehabilitation services within my current employment. I have also attended, in 2024, the Bionic Reconstruction Conference (BRECON) in New York and I am due to attend the Bionic Limb Reconstruction Symposium in Vienna in 2025.

I also regularly present at conferences within the UK and in 2025, will have presented at various solicitor firms, the Dorset Orthopaedic Conference and at BACPAR’s national conference.